The 911 call came in at about 4 p.m. on Sept. 18, 2014, to Gilchrist County dispatchers in Florida. On the tape, the 911 operator could hear a man admitting to killing his adult daughter and his six grandchildren, adding he planned to die by suicide once authorities arrived on the scene.
“Yes Ma’am I, I um, I just shot my daughter. And shot all my grandkids. And I’ll be sitting on my step. And when yous get here I’m going to shoot myself,” the man, who identified himself as Don Spirit, told the dispatcher, according to the 911 call transcript cited by WJXT.
After being asked when the shooting happened, Spirit said, “I don’t want to hear it Ma’am. I’m done with every f—— thing. Just bring the motherf—– out here. That’s all. You got all the kids are dead in the house,” per the transcript.
Once law enforcement arrived on scene in Bell, Fla., a small town located about 40 miles west of Gainesville, they briefly spoke with Sprit, 51, who then died after sustaining a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to a press releaseshared by the Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office at the time.
The victims, all of whom sustained gunshot wounds, were identified as Spirit’s daughter, Sarah Spirit, 28, and her six children, Kaleb Kuhlmann, 11, Kylie Kuhlmann, 9, Johnathon Kuhlmann, 8, Destiny Stewart, 5, Brandon Stewart, 4, and Alanna Stewart, who was born in June of that year, per the sheriff’s office.
Mourners look at a display of photos during a memorial service for the victims at Bell High School on Sept. 21, 2014.
AP Photo/The Gainesville Sun/Matt Stamey
“All of the children’s bodies were located in various locations inside the residence, while the bodies of the two adults were found outside the residence in separate locations on the property,” the sheriff’s office said.
At the time, investigators said they could not determine a motive in the murder-suicide, saying in the release that this “tragic and devastating event may never be fully explained.”
However, Gilchrist County Sheriff Robert Schultz noted at a press conference at the time that Spirit had a criminal history and that authorities had been called to the family home in the past, USA Today reported.
According to court records obtained by the The New York Times, Spirit was sentenced to three years in prison for illegal possession of a firearm after accidentally shooting and killing his young son Kyle during a hunting trip in 2001. Records also show Spirit had previously been convicted of drug possession, battery and “depriving a child of food and shelter,” the Times reported.
Don Spirit. Florida Department of Corrections/Reuters/Landov
As a convicted felon, Spirit was prohibited from owning a firearm in Florida.
According to First Coast News, a report on the case shared by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement stated that Spirit may have been under the influence of drugs at the time of the incident, with his ex-wife claiming to investigators that she believed he had mental health issues.
Years prior to her killings, Sarah had called the police on her father, alleging he physically assaulted her, records show, per the Times. “I am very scared of him. I know what he is capable of,” she wrote in a domestic violence injunction court order in 2008. Spirit later spent about six months behind bars after being charged in a battery case.
As the years passed, Sarah also had brushes with law enforcement. She was arrested on charges of theft, battery and illegal drug use, and had a boyfriend who also spent time behind bars, the Times reported, citing court records.
Sarah’s friend, James Bell, described her as “a beautiful, smart woman,” who “moved from Tampa to Bell to help her dad out,” per USA Today.